G.A. Studdert Kennedy
Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, MC (27 June 1883 - 8 March 1929), was an English poet and Anglican priest. He was nicknamed 'Woodbine Willie' during World War I for giving Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid to injured and dying soldiers. Life Kennedy was born in Leeds in 1883, the 7th of 9 children born to Jeanette (Anketell) and William Studdert Kennedy, a vicar of Leeds. Geoffrey was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin, where he gained a degree in classics and divinity in 1904. After a year's training, he became a curate in Rugby and then, in 1914, the vicar of St. Pauls, Worcester. On the outbreak of war, Kennedy volunteered as a chaplain to the army on the Western Front, where he gained the nickname 'Woodbine Willie'. In 1917, he won the Military Cross at Messines Ridge after running into no man's land to help the wounded during an attack on the German frontline. He wrote a number of poems about his experiences, and these appeared in the books Rough Rhymes of a Padre (1918), and More Rough Rhymes (1919). During the war he supported the British military effort with enthusiasm. Attached to a bayonet-training service he toured with boxers and wrestlers to give morale-boosting speeches about the usefulness of the bayonet. Alan Wilkinson The Church of England and the First World War, SCM Press, London, 1996, p. 136. After the war, Kennedy was given charge of St Edmund, King and Martyr, in Lombard Street, London. Having been converted to Christian socialism and pacifism during the war, he wrote Lies (1919), Democracy and the Dog-Collar (1921) (featuring such chapters as "The Church Is Not a Movement but a Mob," "Capitalism is Nothing But Greed, Grab, and Profit-Mongering," and "So-Called Religious Education Worse than Useless"), Food for the Fed Up (1921), The Wicket Gate (1923), and The Word and the Work (1925). He moved to work for the Industrial Christian Fellowship, for whom he went on speaking tours of Britain. It was on one of these tours that he was taken ill, and died in Liverpool. Recognition Kennedy is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on March 8. The Museum of Army Chaplaincy also honors Kennedy with a large display about his life. Kennedy is the subject of David Gooderson's play,War! Lies! And a Packet of Fags!, which tells the story of “Woodbine Willie” in the Great War and his conversion to pacifism afterward. The play was premiered at the London and International School of Acting in January 1992. A shortened version, titled Waste of Glory, was broadcast on BBC Radio in July 1994 and repeated in November 1995.War! Lies! And a Packet of Fags!, David Gooderson. Web, Apr. 29, 2018. In popular culture He is mentioned in the Divine Comedy song "Absent Friends": "Woodbine Willie couldn't sleep until he'd / given every bloke a final smoke / before the killing." Publications Poetry *''Rough Rhymes of a Padre'' (as "Woodbine Willie"). London & Toronto: Hodder & Stoughton, 1918; New York: Doran, 1918. * More Rough Rhymes of a Padre. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1919. *''Peace Rhymes of a Padre. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1920. * ''The Sorrows Of God, and other poems. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1921; New York: Doran, 1924. *''Lighten our Darkness: Some less rough rhymes of a padre''. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925. * The Unutterable Beauty: The collected poetry. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1927; New York: Harper, 1930. * Rhymes. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1929. Non-fiction *''Rought Talks by a Padre: Delivered to officers and men of the B.E.F.'' London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1916. *''God and the Sacrament''. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1918. *''The Hardest Part. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1918; New York: Doran, 1918. *Why Aren't All the Best Chaps Christians?'' London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1919. *''Lies!'' London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1919; New York: Doran, 1919. *''Food for the Fed-up''. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1921. *''Democracy and the Dog-Collar. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1921. **published in U.S. as ''I Believe: Sermons on the Apostle's Creed. New York: Doran, 1921. *''The Wicket Gate; or, Plain bread''. London: Hodder & Soughton, 1923; New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1929. *''The Word and the Work''. New York, London, & Toronto: Longmans Green, 1925. *''Religion: A blessing or a curse?'' London: P.S. King, 1927. *''Environment''. London: Ernest Benn, 1928. *''The Warrior, the Woman, and the Christ''. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1928; Garden City, NY: Doubleday Doran, 1929. *''The New Man in Christ'' (edited by William Moore). London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1932; New York: Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, 1932. Collected editions *''After War, Is Faith Possible? An anthology'' (edited by Kerry Walters). Cambridge, UK: Lutterworth, 2008; Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2008. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = G.A. Studdert Kennedy, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Oct. 19, 2014. See also * List of British poets References Notes External links ;Poems *2 poems by Kennedy: "April," "Christmas" * Selected poetry of Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929) (9 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. ;Books *Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy at the Online Books Page *G.A. Studdert Kennedy at Amazon.co.uk ;About * War! Lies! And a Packet of Fags!. A play by David Gooderson about the story of “Woodbine Willie” (Studdert Kennedy) * Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy: The pastor and the suffering God An OCMS lecture about Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, given by Robert Ellis, 2005. Category:1883 births Category:1929 deaths Category:People from Leeds Category:English poets Category:World War I chaplains Category:English Anglican priests Category:People associated with Trinity College, Dublin Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers Category:Recipients of the Military Cross Category:British pacifists Category:Anglican poets Category:Old Leodiensians Category:English Christian socialists Category:British World War I poets Category:Anglican saints Category:Poets Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets